This is my kitten Sir Montgomery Hemingway--Monty for short. He is 5 months old, polydactyl on all 4 paws, and likely a Siamese + Snow Bengal Mix. He is updated on his shots/vaccinations (except for rabies due to age, and being neutered due to age), does not/has never had worms, and has tested negative for all FIV, etc. type health issues. He is very alert, affectionate, playful, and energetic--no lethargy out of this little man AT ALL.
However, little Monty is having some MAJOR GI issues. I'll try to break everything down concisely below (a lot has happened):
**Day of 3/26/16--We picked up Monty from the rescue he was at, in the CA desert, about 2.5 hour from where we live. He was dirty when we got him (rescue had him in a big crate in a garage), had some eye boogers, and a little bit of a runny nose. He was sneezing, but was still alert, affectionate, and, of course, extremely cute. The rescue told us she felt he may be part bengal and, thus, she had been feeding him a raw diet. In the car, Monty poo'd on my lap, and in the cat carrier. We called the vet and were told that it is likely due to stress, since cats don't travel well, and he was in the car for a long time. When we got home, we bathed Monty (he totally hated it, but poo was everywhere from the car ride), and he acclimated to the house.
**Night of 3/26/16--After feeding Monty (who rigorously at his food) Blue Buffalo Kitten Food (we are aware changing foods for kittens may cause diarrhea, now), for the day, he still had diarrhea, suddenly with a watery red-tinge to it. We were wiping the little's butt almost every 30 minutes due to anal leakage. Assuming this was blood, we took him to an ER vet at 2AM, and were told the diarrhea was indeed, likely due to stress from moving, the car ride, and the new food, and to please give Monty 0.4 of Metronidazle (antibiotic) 2x a day for 7 days. Monty tested negative for parasites like Giardia and etc.
**Afternoon of 3/28/16--Because Monty was still having diarrhea, with somewhat less leakage between bowel movements, we look him to another vet. He was given a clean bill of health, other than likely having some GI issues, and was prescribed 0.9 ml/day Panacur (dewormer/for parasitic infections) for 5 days. We were also given Revolution (flea/tick) as well. During this visit, Monty's ears were cleaned as well.
**Afternoon of 3/31/16--Since Monty was still having the same amount of diarrhea, we took him back to the vet, this time prepared with a stool sample from home. The stool sample was sent off to a lab (results pending now), Monty's ears were re-checked, and an ear infection was found, for which he was prescribed 2 drops of Tresaderm (antimicrobial/antifungal/corticiosteroid) 2x/day in each ear for 7 days. At this point in time, Monty was put on a strict diet--MRX Hills Feline I/D (Gastrointestional), and 1 packet of powdered Advita (probiotic), to be put on his food daily. We were advised to mix his current food (Blue Buffalo) with the new food 50/50, so that he could slowly acclimate to the new food, while also adding the probiotic. The vet and staff did not seem very concerned due to how playful, alert, and all around normal kitten-like Monty was while in the office. We were told we would get results from the fecal exam soon, and that if the fecal exam did not give us any answers, our next step would be to get an xray.
**Night of 3/31/16--Monty did not eat the combination of the two foods with the probiotic. We tried having Monty eat the new food by itself, which he did not eat. We then tried the old food by itself, which he ate some of, until we added the probiotic. We then tried the new food by itself, which he ate if we pointed him to the bowl and sat with him while he ate (somehow, he is extremely obedient). However, he has not been eating near as much as he used to on the Blue Buffalo food.
**Day of 4/2/16--Monty is now eating the Hills food more regularly, but he is definitely having some anal leakage over night, and after he has a bowel movement. He will poo in a semi solid form, leave the litter box for 5-10 minutes, go back in the litter box, and have a liquid poo--its almost like the second bowel movement hasn't been in his colon long enough to solidify. He strains during the second poo, and it sometimes has a thin, reddish tinge to it. He is definitely better in terms of anal leakage, and pooping in general than he was a week ago, but we have yet to see a completely solid poop since he has been with us.
We really love Monty, and he is worth spending the money on--we want him to get better. We are doing our absolute best to get him the care he needs. However, at this point, we do feel helpless. We've had him on antibiotics, probiotics, special food--you name it--and he is not better. He is not stressed in our home--he is very happy--so the likelihood of him having stress diarrhea a week later doesn't seem likely. If you have any comments, questions, concerns, etc., please help us! We want our little man in tip top shape as soon as possible.
Thanks!